Sorry this took so long… I had to figure out how to word this part.
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The next day, Bumblebee brought Sam to visit, with Laserbeak riding on his shoulder as the pigeon-sized pterodactyl had obviously taken to doing. Megatron and Zephyr shared a short yet meaningful glance before moving off to the side, well away from the rest, so as to not agitate the lad, who they both believed still had every right to fear Megatron and anyone resembling him even after the passage of so many years. Though the amount of time that had passed was nothing to Megatron and his kin, Zephyr had explained to the lot of them that the human perception of time's passage was far different from theirs. He tried to explain to her that she could simply transform and join the rest, socializing in her human form, but she would have none of it. She barely knew the boy, having met him only once. Not to mention the fact that Megatron would be left by himself if she did.
As Sam chatted about old times with his friends, he couldn't help but occasionally glance toward the pair where they sat side by side, arm in arm in a fashion that seemed entirely too human to him until he remembered that one of the two had started out as a human. He couldn't believe that he was looking at the one who had menaced him and threatened him and his whole race with death. Looking at him now… Watching him laugh in honest happiness as he embraced the one who obviously meant everything to him… Sam could feel his fear dying. "Wow," he said to himself. "He really loves her." Quiet as that realization was, it was heard. "Indeed he does," Optimus answered. "She's the best thing that ever happened to him, to hear him tell it, and I'm somewhat inclined to agree with his assessment given the effect she's had on him. I've never seen him this happy and content before, even before the war started. He spent eons thinking he would be happy if he had the All Spark and conquered everything, but all he really needed was her and his son…" Sam abruptly stared up at the Autobot leader. "Son? He has a son?" A moment later, he shook his head to rid himself of the mental images of little versions of the former Decepticon leader scampering around and acting like their 'daddy'. And he thought he'd been bad as a child! Seemingly oblivious to this, Optimus continued to speak. "Since Megatron is my brother… younger brother, to be precise… that would make me what you humans term an uncle." But Sam was mentally a million miles away as he continued to watch the two, feeling his fear of the silver Decepticon swiftly die. The cruelty and malice was gone from his face, from his eyes… The hellfire that had haunted his nightmares was replaced with a warm, almost soothing glow. He really had changed, keeping his distance for the sake of the young human he had once threatened with death.
At that moment, Sam came to a decision. Carefully hopping to the ground, he walked over to where the two still sat, oblivious to his presence, and laid a hand on the comparatively colossal silver leg of the one being he had once feared above all else. Megatron's startled jump was almost human in its sincerity as he swiftly looked down to regard the small human with an expression of utter shock. Following a perfectly understandable knee-jerk reaction of momentary fright, Sam managed a wan yet sincere smile. "Aren't you two getting lonely just sitting over here all by yourselves? Come join the rest of us. There's plenty of room over here, after all." Completely thrown for a loop, Megatron shot his brother a look of complete surprise. Smiling warmly, Optimus gave an encouraging nod in return. The former Decepticon, for his part, was unsure of what to make of any of this. "I… uh… thank you?" Standing up, Zephyr grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, then proceeded to drag him over to the rest, completely unresisting all the way. "Come on, you." Sam had to hold back the urge to laugh at this display as the disconcerted Megatron stumbled along behind her. A moment later, he followed the two. A few moments after that, all three were seated with the rest and swapping stories too.
The conversation stretched through the rest of the day and deep into the evening. The last crimson sliver of the setting sun had sunk below the tree-lined horizon amid a cascade of pink and gold and the first of what few pale stars could pierce the fiery orange haze of the nearby city's nighttime lighting were beginning to shine through the slowly deepening blue of the night sky as the lively chat began to wind down. Much as Sam loathed the idea of leaving his friends again after so long apart and such a short reunion, it was time for him to go home. He had a regular life to go back to, so he reluctantly prepared to leavewith Bumblebee escorting him as he always did, Laserbeak once again going along for the ride. Though the war was long over, there was always the risk of a disgruntled Decepticon or two deciding to take out their lingering frustrations on the human who had defeated their leader and seemingly induced his defection from the cause he himself had pioneered and spent so much time fighting and killing for, had destroyed so much for…
As the trio prepared to head out, Megatron unexpectedly stood up. "Wait a minute, if you don't mind. I… have something I want to say to Sam." Sam paused. It was extremely weird to him to hear the Decepticon leader speak his name instead of just calling him 'boy' as he had that day. He managed to keep his nervousness to a minimum as Megatron slowly walked over and knelt down until they were pretty much face to face, one huge clawed hand gently brushing against his shoulder in what he guessed was supposed to be a friendly gesture. "Sam." The gruff voice he had feared held a note of softness. "I… just wanted to thank you for what you did that day." This took him aback. "You want to thank me for defeating you and darn near killing you? …For denying you your prize?" He was sure his words would anger the silver titan, but Megatron only smiled. "I was angry at first, yes… But your deed was the reason I met her," he said, casting a meaningful glance toward where Zephyr stood. "Besides, I had no intention of killing you." Sam nodded. "You did say you were going to make you my pet." Megatron shook his head. "Not really… That was just the only way I could think of to put it at that point. Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to say to you." There was a short pause. "All you humans impressed me with your bravery that day. Your species is so small and fragile, yet you fought without fear. But you, Sam… You impressed me the most. That was why I planned to spare you. You earned my respect, and in so doing you earned the right to be allowed to live, no matter which side won. Decepticons have at least that much honor, though I'll admit that's about all of it." Sam looked thoughtful as that statement sank in. "You seemed pretty hot to kill me right before I used the All Spark on you, though." There was a sharp clang as metal hand met metal faceplate once Megatron heard that. "Oh, for the love of… That was after falling off the building… and landing on my head!"
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One more chapter, maybe, and then the epilogue. I hope this is enough to hold everybody over until TF2...